Approximately 17 people lost their lives when a shooting in Parkland, Florida took place inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a former student reportedly opened fire with a .223 caliber, AR-15 style firearm on Wednesday (February 14), Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel confirmed to CNN.

After being expelled for "unspecified disciplinary reasons," the suspect, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who has since been apprehended, supposedly triggered the institution's fire alarm system in order to lure people out of classrooms to consequentially increase the number of casualties, added another law enforcement source.

While many of those people managed to escape the building during what was believed to be a drill at first, others took cover in classrooms and closet spaces at the sounds of a volley of gunshots that forced the high school into lockdown and sent both staff and students to flee the building in panic.

Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Since the fatal shooting, early reports by WSVN suggest that about 20 more people may have been injured during the incident. While the story is currently still developing, celebrities have already taken to Twitter to send their sympathies to the students, victims, and the families affected by the catastrophe.

“No words, no actions, no laws are enough until we end this epidemic of school shootings in our country,” tweeted Ellen DeGeneres. "My heart is with the students and parents of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School."